[IN THE NEWS] Return of the Auroch

Article: The wild, extinct supercow returning to Europe

The earliest cows were mighty beasts that stood almost as tall as elephants, with lean, powerful frames and fearsome horns that would make a hunter think twice.

In a recent discussion with some friends, the topic went to lab grown meat and how it would impact the animals we domesticated in order to have ready and easy access to them as a food source.  The main animal we discussed was the domesticated cow.  Would they be allowed to go extinct, kept in small numbers as a source for "authentic" beef, or returned to the wild?

The first option, allowing them to go extinct, would be a big mistake.  Another article I came across recently talks about the devastating impact we have had on mammal biodiversity and how it could take millions of years to recover (Mammals Are Going Extinct so Fast That Biodiversity Will Need Millions of Years to Recover).  So, most likely, scientists/conservationists will step in to ensure that domesticated cattle wouldn't just die out; but possibly try to "return them to the wild" in small herds.

Conservationists now believe the loss of the [auroch, a keystone herbivore,] was tragic for biodiversity in Europe, arguing that the aurochs' huge appetite for grazing provided a natural "gardening service" that maintained landscapes and created the conditions for other species to thrive.

This in turn led me to finding the article above regarding the recreation of the Auroch, an distant early ancestor to the modern domesticated cow.  The part I find brilliant, is that instead of genetically modifying existing cattle, they are reverse breeding them.

Rather than attempt the type of gene editing or high-tech de-extinction approaches being employed for species from woolly mammoths to passenger pigeons, Goderie chose a method known as back-breeding to create a substitute bovine he named "Tauros."

The bast part is that these new Tauros are able to defend themselves again natural predators like wolves, and aren't acting like domesticated cattle anymore, increasing their survivability.  And with survivability comes the restoration of biodiversity, and hope.